Yesterday I rode what has become one of my favorite Moab rides after a few readers recommended it last year when I asked for favorite Moab rides. I make a loop that includes Gold Bar Rim and then over to the Portal Trail and down.
I started from downtown Moab and rode out the old highway to the Gemini Bridges parking lot. From there I headed up the road until the Gold Bar Rim jeep road split off to the left.
Once the Gold Bar Rim jeep road makes it to the rim, there’s a very technical singletrack that follows right along the rim edge. Sometimes it is literally on the rim edge. This year there was fresh blue paint marking the singletrack and it was much easier to follow. I had to get off several times because of drops. It was well worth it for the views and the fun trying to ride what I could. I was thinking though a freeride bike would have been better than my hard tail.
A storm was coming in and before I got to the Portal Trail, the clouds started moving in. I thought I saw rain in the distance so I tried to keep moving at a good pace. About the time I got back into Moab, I discovered it was a giant dust cloud instead of rain.
The Portal Trail is not a trail for people that are scared of heights. The upper part of the trail crosses close to the edge and a few people have fallen off. It really isn’t that bad as long as you get off and walk and pay attention. Once across the narrow section, it’s a very technical descent to the Potash road but it isn’t on the edge.
I have the Moab Gold Bar Rim – Portal Trail GPS track uploaded. It also has small photos placed on it. I also have photos of the ride on Flickr.
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Tags: Moab, mountain biking, Utah
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I’ve now been to Moab twice, both times with my road bike. I really need to make the next trip a mtn bike trip.
[…] Gold Bar Rim Singletrack and Portal Trail […]